1. Field of the Invention
This invention is related to soups and soup concentrates. In particular, the invention is directed to a particulate-containing soup concentrate which, upon being packaged in a hermetically sealed pouch or other such sealed container, without the necessity of retorting, is transformed to a spoonable plastic physical state when stored for an extended time period at home freezer temperature conditions.
2. Description of the Prior Art
The outstanding disadvantage of conventional canned soups and soup concentrates is the degradation of the desirable delicate flavor and textural features of the natural vegetable and meat ingredients formulated in the soup mixture when the mixture is heat processed after canning to effect commercial sterilization. Many canned soups have a detectable off-flavor, usually characterized as a caramelized flavor, attributable to the prolonged, high temperature processing after canning whereof the soup content near the wall of the container is subjected to excessive heat incident to assuring the remaining content to be adequately processed.
Dehydrated soup mixtures, in addition to requiring boiling, or at least simmering, to reconstitute the dried particulates of the mixture to a soft textural state in a reasonable period of time, also have the flavor deficiencies generally associated with dehydrated vegetables and meats.
Frozen soups, wherein the liquid and particulates are converted to a rigid solid state during the processing of the comestibles, upon thawing and heating for consumption, are known to exhibit poor textural quality which is attributed to the inability of the soup ingredients, especially the cellular of fibrous particulates, to withstand freeze-thaw temperature cycle conditions.
The above-mentioned significant disadvantages manifested in conventional soups and dry soup mixes have been universally recognized and the prior art has long sought a means to provide a soup product which, in addition to being amenable to convenient, rapid preparation on the part of the housewife, would have the excellent flavor and textural qualities associated with freshly prepared "home-made" soups. The present invention is intended to satisfy such requirements.
Within the recent past, considerable knowledge has been gained concerning the relationship among the chemically bound water content, the water solute content, the water insoluble solids content and the free water of a food and the effect of this relationship on the capability of the food to resist complete solidification at depressed temperature conditions.
Within present knowledge, however, the prior art has not discovered how the principle of properly effecting the aforementioned relationship can be utilized to preserve the initial flavorable impact of a soup concentrate and the textural integrity of the cellular or fibrous food particles contained therein. Those efforts which involved the use of effective amounts of propylene glycol and other polyhydric alcohols have been less than successful because of the introduction of foreign and unpleasant flavor notes by these exoticingredients to the resulting food products.